Carnivores in China

Ni Hau. We have just spent a fleeting 2 weeks in China, a late addition to our World Tour, where we focused on Beijing, Xi'an and Yangshou. We had to wait until we arrived in Vietnam to post this update as with You Tube and Facebook, the Chinese Government considered our blog a security risk and blocked access. Ironic, given how much the Chinese people adore western cultural icons such as McDonalds, Gucci, Nike and the like.

A few things we have learnt about China and its people during our visit:

IT SNOWS IN BEIJING - We arrived in Beijing via a stinking hot Singapore hopelessly underdressed for the -4 degrees and snow which greeted us. The changeable Beijing spring relented a little to enable us to trek between the isolated Jinshaling and Simatai along the Great Wall of China. This part of the Wall has both restored and unrestored sections and thankfully no McDonalds in sight, unlike sections of the wall closer to Beijing. The snow returned a few days later and we had a spectacular night trip to the Olympic Green to see the Bird Cage and the Water Cube.



ANYTHING IS EDIBLE - After 2 months of vegetarianism in India and Nepal which we are sure would make Lou proud, we returned to our carnivore origins. The famous Peking Duck was first on our menu, followed up the next day at a street food market with meat on a stick. Here, Rodney also indulged in Scorpions and Kirsty enjoyed the safety of toffee Strawberries. Needless to say, we turned down many other weird things including seahorses, cockroaches, chicken feet and dog.



MANDERIN IS NOT JUST A FRUIT - China presented us with our first real language challenges as not many people speak or read English. Whether it be directing a taxi, finding our hostel or ordering food, sign language and pointing to Chinese characters in the Lonely Planet had to be relied on to break down the communication barrier. Even then, our hostels took longer to find than they should have and weird food turned up on our table.



QUEUEING IS UNHEARD OF - People simply do not line up in China and it is a case of everyone for themselves in a push to the front. For example, at the Summer Palace in Beijing Kirsty and a Canadian friend Mel lined up to use the facilities. The locals soon realised that it is unwise to push in front of a Canadian and a New Zealander busting to go - boney elbows will be used at the offender's peril.

THE CHINESE PACK LIGHT - With the promise of an awesome sunrise, we traveled from Xi'an to climb Mt Hua Shan and sleep on its eastern peak. The trek is famous for its steep gradient as it climbs over 2000 metres in less than 7 kilometres. With reports of poor facilities and cold nights we packed our gear into one of our packs. The sight of Rodney carrying our pack generated much excitement amongst the Chinese, who had mostly caught the cable car three quarters of the way up the mountain on a day trip and were therefore carrying next to nothing. We were later informed by an English speaking Chinese guy that Rodney had gained legendary status and that he was being talked about as "that strong [crazy] foreigner".



TOUR DE CHINA - We found that the awesome karst peaks, rivers and villages surrounding the town of Yangshuo were best explored by trekking and cycling. While we thoroughly enjoyed our local bicycles, unfortunately, even though the vast majority of the worlds cycle helmets are manufactured in China, none are available for use in the country itself. Towards the end of our ride, we passed a group of local women who obviously resented being overtaken, as they immediately reacted with several counter attacks. Our competitive nature took over and before long, Kirsty was in the middle of her first bike race sitting on Rodney's wheel as they chased down and attacked Team China Mobile to take victory at the pedestrian crossing on the entry into town. Not long after, Rodney decided to take advantage of the many mopeds and work on his leg speed with a little bit of motor pacing through the main street of Yangshuo.





We are currently eating our share of French bakery items in Hanoi before travelling to Halong Bay tomorrow, followed by Sapa later in the week. If you are interested in seeing all of our China photos, check out www.flickr.com/photos/rodneykirsty/sets

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Easter,

Love Kirsty and Rodney.

Himalayan Highs in Nepal

Namaste from Kathmandu, Nepal. We have been missing in action for the last few weeks as we have been trekking through the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. We have also had a little downtime in Kathmandu, Pokhara and the Chitwan National Park.

PHOTOS ON FLICKR

If the small selection of photos on this blog doesn't satisfy your appetite, all our India and Nepal photos are now on Flickr. Check out the slide show option on www.flickr.com/photos/rodneykirsty/sets

TREKKING IN ANNAPURNA

Over 15 days we trekked the entire Annapurna Circuit, significant amounts of the adjoining Annapurna Sanctuary and several side tracks. The challenges were many, as were the funny stories.



OUR FITNESS SERVED US WELL - We covered over 300 kms, climbed over 10,000 metres and averaged between 5 and 6 hours trekking a day.

ALTITUDE - The Annapurna Circuit involved crossing the Thorung La Pass. At 5416 metres, it is the highest commercial pass in the world so we were jumping in the deep end. To put this into perspective, Mt Cook is 3754 metres. This was the first time that either of us had been to this level of altitude. Thanks to reasonable acclimatisation, diamox and for Rodney io simulation over the years (thanks Bron) the only issues we had were shortness of breath and the need to stop occasionally to let our heart rates drop. As both of us have never smoked, we can only assume that must be what it is like for a smoker trying to run a marathon. We have plans to go even higher this year, so stay tuned!!!



FIRING AT BOTH ENDS - Nepal's lack of food hygiene is renowned for providing trekkers with gastro issues and we were to be no exception. Kirsty was struck down twice and Rodney once. Surviving a 6 hour trekking day lacking sleep, while going at both ends was quite the mental test. Nevertheless we managed to stick to our planned itinerary while also completing our 100 level papers in gastro medicine thanks to our travel doctor book and medical kit. We particularly liked the term used for the combination of drugs required - "the bomb" and enjoyed remarking to others that we had just bombed our stomachs. While not the official medical term that your local GP would use, the treatment worked.

TREKKING IN THE OFF SEASON - Completing this trek in the off season (winter) meant that we had enhanced views of the snow capped Himalayas, which we had to share with next to no one... except for random Kiwis that kept on showing up. The off season did provide extra challenges though. Snow and ice, whether it be fresh powder or slippery ice, made staying upright difficult and the days longer. Even for hardened Wellingtonians like ourselves(go the Phoenix), the winter temperatures and winds high in the Himalayas were bloody cold. Our water and chocolate bars actually froze solid the day we crossed the Pass. The freezing temperates also meant that hot or warm showers were few and far between (2 in 15 days) thanks to frozen pipes. Similarly, heating was often non - existent. The cold temperatures may have affected Rodney's state of mind, as on one occasion he had the sudden urge to reenact Rory Fallon's World Cup qualifying winning goal on a snow covered soccer pitch at 3500 metres.



FINDING NIM(O)- Due to the increased risks associated with the off season, we decided to complete the trek with a guide. Big ups to our guide Nim (pronounced Neem), who together with our porter Sujun (pronounced Susan)kept us entertained and safe during the trek. It's been at least a decade since we have heard Barbie Girl by Aqua, Celine Dion and ACDC daily, but this music is big in Nepal. Nim also successfully ensured that the garlic soup was consumed in the throws of our gastro difficulties and amused us with his high quantity twice daily intake of Daal Baat (lentils, rice and curried veggies). Nim found it amusing when we learnt to rebut his daily "Bistari Bistari" (slowly slowly) with "Chhito Chhito" (quickly quickly and when Rodney had an attempt at being the porter. Needless to say, we are slowly becoming fluent in Nepalese.



EVEREST - We have thoroughly enjoyed trekking in Nepal and would like to return in a few years to do the Everest Base Camp trek. If you are keen to be a part of the action we are currently taking enrollments.

CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK

We spent 2 days exploring the Chitwan National Park by dug out canoe, foot, old Russian Volga jeep and elephant. We were lucky enough to see several rhinos, a sloth bear, marsh mugger and gharial crocs, spotted deer and many rare birds. The elephant safari provided the best viewing as the other animals ignored the elephants and allowed us to get a very close birds eye view (within 5 metres of a wild rhino is very cool).

Without doubt, our biggest highlight in Chitwan was swimming with the elephants. It was unreal. Our circus act entertained both the locals and other tourists.





NEXT STAGE OF THE WORLD TOUR

We fly to Beijing, China via Singapore on 10 March, where we start our overland trip through China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, ending in Singapore.

We hope that all is well wherever you are reading this.

Love Kirsty and Rodney.